I let my friends choose my Tinder dates – here’s why I wish I hadn’t…

The hook-up app has announced its new ‘Matchmaker’ function, which allows others to swipe left and right on your behalf. Don’t let them, pleads Olivia Petter

Tinder’s new Matchmaker facility allows users to invite up to 15 friends to help them choose a date (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

One of the joys of modern life is that we can outsource almost anything. Weekly supermarket shop? You can automate it online. Need to get somewhere quickly? Leave it to Uber. Fancy a life partner? Ah, there’s an app for that. That last one might sound strange to anyone who isn’t au fait with the online dating world – but today, it transpires that even the responsibility of your love life can be relinquished to someone else.

This week, Tinder launched a new tool called Matchmaker, which enables users to invite up to 15 friends, family members, and late-night bathroom BFFs to join their online dating world. While they can’t send messages on your behalf (thank goodness for that), they can view profiles and make suggestions without needing to have their own account. The Tinder user can then review their matchmaker’s suggestions before deciding whether to swipe left or right on them.

Tinder has explained that the feature was born out of the common practice of single people giving their phones to friends and asking them to swipe on their behalf. “For years, singles have asked their friends to help find their next match on Tinder, and now we’re making that so easy with Tinder Matchmaker,” explained Melissa Hobley, chief marketing officer at Tinder. “Tinder Matchmaker brings your circle of trust into your dating journey and helps you see the possibilities you might be overlooking from the perspective of those closest to you.”